Ties that Bind
by Amarin Astarte aka Leif Verde
Summary: Part two fo Windrider's Song, from Melchiah's POV
1. One

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Disclaimer: Soul Reaver and all related characters belong to Eidos. 

This began as my being bored (seems to happen alot) and more than slightly frazzled at work I did not want to do, so I decided to torture some characters. It's now turned into an AU, completely by accident. Who knew?  
  
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**_Ties That Bind_**

How could they not care? How could they not care what was happening to him? Didn't they...? He's our brother, curse them all! How could they not care that... about what...? 

The fact that he was alive amazed me. The fact that Kain hadn't ripped his wings from his body and torn them into a pulp was a miracle.   
The order of our birth made all the difference among the Lieutenants of Kain. As the last born, I had the mouse's share of gifts, while Raziel, poor Raziel, was Kain's firstborn. His chosen Childe. And as such, he was expected to live up to that. I suppose that he did in his evolution in a way.   
The high cliffs overlooking the lakes and my territory are always a comfort to me. Whenever I need to think, which lately is quite often, I go there. That evening was no different.   
I couldn't tell you how many hours I sat brooding over the callous behavior of my siblings. Turel had actually spoken ill of our oldest brother, calling him a barrage of slurs. He spoke low to himself, but I heard him. I heard him and it made my blood boil. I kept my anger to myself, trying to decide what to do if it came back that...  
I admit it freely. Of all my brothers, Raziel is my favorite. Though he is the eldest of Kain's making, he is the youngest of us in flesh. I, likewise, am the last made but the oldest in face and body. Ah, Raziel, who can look so grimly serious one minute, then flip and be a rakish rogue with a skill for tricks and practical jokes that would put the most mischievous imps to shame. I think that greatly annoys the others, as well. I'd heard one of my brothers, I can't recall which, mumble "Led by a impetuous child" once as we moved against the humans. That "impetuous child" and his clan showed that entire town and us as well, what it was to be a vampire.  
This was one of the thoughts I turned over in my head as I sat watching the poisoned waters ripple. Sickly green, almost glowing... how many of our kind have perished in its depths...?  
"Melchiah...?" The voice was soft, abnormally so, but...  
I heard Raziel's ribs groan as I whirled and crushed him in my arms, but he himself made no sound. I, on the other hand, was trying to stifle the zealous joy that threatened to send me into histrionics.  
"You... he didn't... your wings..."  
"Are still there..." there was an odd, joyless tone to that statement, one I'd come to understand much later. But I noticed it. I always noticed when he was bothered. Anyone of us could have seen this, though.  
Normally there's a shine to his golden eyes, predatory and wild. Wolf's eyes that added to his fine-boned face. But those eyes were dull; distant and clouded, as if the smoke of Nosgoth had blocked the light from them as they did the sky.   
"Raziel?"  
"What were you thinking about?" He moved past me with a new, light grace and an unnerving emptiness in his expression. He leaned against the window ledge where I had been and looked out. I realized then that he wasn't dressed in his uniform. Instead, he was wrapped in a red velvet cloak that bore his signet. Slits had been made in it to accommodate his new wings. Underneath was the loose black silk shirt and pants he wore at leisure. His feet were bare, and I surmised he must have flown at least part the way here. "What were you thinking about?" He asked again.  
"You. If Kain had killed you or not. He just..."  
"Did he say anything?"  
"No. He hasn't spoken to us... at least to me since... I thought you were dead, brother."  
"So did I." I saw the corner of his mouth jerk, and he made a small sound, tensing.  
"Raziel?"  
"Fine. Just a bit slower to heal than normal. Kain broke a few of my ribs."  
"I didn't hurt you, make it worse when I...?"  
"No, no. On the contrary. It is nice to know that at lease ONE of my siblings cares about my continued existence." He sat down on the windowledge and leaned out, resting most of his weight on his thigh and arm. I've never seen him look so frail and vulnerable. What had Kain done to him?  
He jumped as I put my arm around his shoulder. This was not the Raziel I knew. My Raziel would have smirked and playfully pushed me away. This one... This one looked up at me with eyes as lost as a man without a soul. Then he closed them and lay his head against my chest. His hair was unbound, and I stroked it gently.  
"What did he do to you?"  
"What Kain did... is inconsequential. It is what he is going to do..."  
"I don't understand. Does he still intend to kill you?"  
"No. He's convinced now..." he shook his head a little in half-dismay and half-disbelief, "that I was given wings before him for two reasons. The one was bad enough..." I wanted to ask him to elaborate, but decided to let him go at his own pace, "I think the second has something to do with who or what I was as a mortal, but... he said he would explain later."  
"So long as you live, can it be that bad...?"  
"Yes. No. It is... not something I want to think about right now." He looked sick, ready to fall over. The mother hen in me rose cackling to the surface. She had a tendency to do that when I started worrying over my eldest little brother.  
"Have you fed? Have you been sleeping?"  
"I don't know... I think... I think I slept some... or tried to..." he shrugged, "I cannot really... remember."   
"I'd risk that you haven't and you aren't." I dragged him away from the window before he fell out of it and he readily came with me, not resisting at all. I found myself trying to blame it on the weakness of not feeding, not on something our master may have done to him. But my mind began whirling with possibilities. Of course, my train of thought was broken when he stumbled and nearly fell as we walked. I caught him and was amazed at his weight. Even out of armor it should have been more than what I felt when I held him in my arms. I'd felt his natural weight and strength before in sparring matches, almost twice of a human his size. Now he barely felt the weight of a man his size.  
Raziel rested against me, tried to walk, and stumbled again. Unable to take it, I bent a little and lifted him into my arms. There was no opposition, no pulling away. Just a brief flutter of one wing as he just sank into my embrace and closed his eyes.  
A few of my fledglings questioned me as I carried Raziel to my chambers. I answered simply that he was not well, and instructed them to scour my human slaves and find the most robust, full of the best blood and bring him to me. They nodded and scampered off.   
The subdued light of my private rooms highlighted the caverns under his eyes. He looked as bad as the occasional stubborn fledgling who refuses to give up his humanity and feed on others, slowly starving and wasting away. There was exhaustion on his pale face, though, along with the gaunt hunger. His lashes were a stark line against his sallow cheeks. He jerked suddenly in my arms, as if in pain, and I quickly lay him down on the nearest couch, checking for any major injuries left over from his encounter with Kain. I could feel his ribs under my fingers. How had he lost so much weight so quickly? It had been at least a handful of days since he'd presented himself to Kain... could he have been starving himself since then? Had Kain given him some bizarre command in order to kill him slowly...?   
My second-in-command returned with a young worker I didn't recognize, but who was absolutely perfect. His hair was the rich brown of hardwood, and despite the lack of sun in Nosgoth, his flesh was a golden tan. He smelled of sweat and human musk, but most of all fear.  
"What is your name, boy?"  
"Perrin, my lord." He attempted a clumsy bow, and I smiled a little.  
"Well, Perrin, my brother is sick, and I need your help to heal him."  
"M-mine, master?" His voice was suddenly little boy small, despite his six-foot frame.  
"Yes, come here." I waved him over with one hand, stroking Raziel's hair with the other. Those cloudy yellow eyes had cleared a little, flecks of metallic gold reflecting the light from the braziers. Perrin came obediently to my side, visibly shaken. I grabbed the human and made a cut on his neck with my claw, filling the air with the sweet scent of his blood.  
"Raziel, I-" I began, and didn't get a chance to finish. Raziel struck like a poisonous snake. All I felt was a rush of wind and heard a leathery flapping, followed by Perrin's scream. I'd seen the terribly hungry of our kind frenzy before, but never one of my own brothers. Perhaps because we normally stayed well fed... Raziel hung on him like a hunting cat, arms around his body, the claws of his feet dug into the human's thighs. His wings folded around my slave... ex-slave's body as he drank in deep draughts from his throat. The dying man remained standing for a few moments, then collapsed under his own weight combined with Raziel's. My brother's wings opened fully and he caught them mid-fall in brief flight before planting his own feet solid on the ground and embracing the body, still drinking. I'd also never seen a body drunk so dry. When he finally dropped the dead man, he was little more than a shrunken husk.   
Raziel whirled around to face me, his eyes wild as an untamed beast, blood trickling down his chin. His tongue snaked out and caught even that small dribble. A few thick black locks of hair curled over his shoulder like snakes, and for a second I didn't recognize him as my brother. Then his sanity returned as the blood-hunger abated.  
"Brother...? What... What happened...?" His foot caught on the dried raisin of a man left over from his feeding, and he looked down on him at first with confusion, then mild chagrin. When he raised his head to look me in the eyes, I saw again my beloved imp of a brother, if a little subdued. "I normally don't feed so ravenously. I need to work on my table manners." I laughed. It felt good to laugh again after so many days.  
"I'm glad to see you're better."  
"I am, thank you. And..." He stepped over the corpse, then dragged one foot a little in obvious embarrassment, "And thank you for caring for me. I probably would have let myself waste away..."  
I began to say something sappish like "that's what brothers do" and then I thought of Turel and the others. I shrugged instead.  
"You would do the same for me, wouldn't you?"  
"Of course. As the oldest I'm supposed to look out for my baby brother." He said this with a broad smile, showing his perfect white teeth, and I laughed again.  
"Of course." His smile faltered, and he looked distant again, eye glassing, "Raziel?"  
"Hmm?"  
"Is something wrong?"  
"N-no. Just thinking about something. It's not important." He gave me a flippant, dismissing gesture with his hand. I believed him about as far as I could throw my own stronghold. 


	2. Two

*************  
Disclaimer: Soul Reaver and all related characters belong to Eidos. 

This began as my being bored (seems to happen alot) and more than slightly frazzled at work I did not want to do, so I decided to torture some characters. It's now turned into an AU, completely by accident. Who knew?  
  
************* 

**_Ties That Bind_**

By the end of the week, we all stood before Kain again as he spoke of the growing annoyance in the human cities. Vampire hunters by the dozens had begun picking off the weaker fledglings, and then going after the stronger ones. With increasing success. Even Turel's clan was suffering.  
I didn't fail to notice the looks of surprise, annoyance, and disdain as Kain continued to address Raziel as our leader. What did surprise me were the minute signs of discomfort and distrust my brother showed when forced to be too close to Kain.  
"After all these years the humans have grown spines again. It was folly to allow the strong-willed ones to roam free for our amusement. They have BRED. And if they continue to breed, we will have a war on our hands again."  
"We will exterminate them from Nosgoth once and for all, my liege." Turel snarled, angered that he'd lost even ONE fledgling to human hands. I stared across the circle at Raziel, trying to gauge his reactions. He was distant again, but not in that strange way he had been before. He was tense, holding something in. I saw his hand clench tight then release. Was he still in pain? He must have made some small sound that I could not hear, because Dumah, standing closest, raised an eyebrow and looked at him strangely.  
"We shall. That is why I have spared Raziel his death." All eyes now turned to him, and he seemed to think ill of the attention by the look on his face. It felt so much like a repeat of the past council as Kain descended and walked over to Raziel, down to the looks of interest on the faces of the others.  
Kain stopped in front of his eldest and smiled a little. I'd never seen Raziel cow before Kain until that moment. He drew back a step; eyes distrusting as Kain caressed his pale throat with claws I knew could shear through it in a flinch. I heard Rahab mutter something snide about Kain having finally put the little upstart in his place, and regretting he had to miss out on watching whatever lesson our master had taught him. Disgusting.  
"I believe," Kain almost purred, which sent chills down my back, "that the powers that be have given Raziel these wonderful wings that he might be our eyes from above. It would not do for ME to scout and scour over human holdings to see what they are doing, no. But who better to watch them than the one of us who keeps the most human pets?"  
I had to admit to myself that it was sound logic. Raziel was known for his collection of not slaves, but "show" humans. Pretty youths of both sexes who served no purpose but to sit around and be pleasing to the eye. They were as well cared for as prized hunting dogs, and were often quite useful in luring in other humans for slavework. I'd never seen it in person, but had heard rumors from members of his clan that when he did choose to feed off of them it was an extremely... erotic display, and virtually never fatal for the humans. In fact, I'd heard that they often offered their throats to him in abject worship, but I'd never questioned him about any of this.   
Raziel nodded his head in understanding. Before his wings, he might have just snorted or glowered at Kain's supposition. Our lord had certainly done SOMETHING to tame him. Kain said something softly to him, and I saw Turel straining to hear but he couldn't from the blatant annoyance on his face. Raziel stiffened, and nodded again.  
"Of course I understand."  
"Good. We begin come moonrise. Go feed, you'll need the strength, won't you?"  
Kain dismissed us immediately after. Raziel left the room stiffly, and I knew him well enough to know that it wasn't rage that lengthened his stride and curled his claws, it was humiliation. Turel caught up with him first, stopped him at the gates of the Sanctuary.  
"What? What did he say to you?"  
"That is between Kain and myself," Raziel's voice was clipped, and he brushed Turel's hand off his shoulder like it belonged to the lowliest fledgling. It wasn't the best of actions. Turel near-roared, grabbed him by his ponytail, and swung him against the wall in fury. Raziel bounced off it with a surprised grunt, then fell to his knees. He turned glowing eyes on Kain's second-born, snarling. A rivalry had been growing between them for quite some time now, and I feared it was coming to a head with Raziel in no shape to battle Turel.   
"This is going to get ugly fast." I heard Zephon chortle. He didn't care who was fighting, so long as blood was shed. Raziel stood with absolute serpentine grace, and locked eyes with Turel as he recaught his hair again.  
"If you must know, BROTHER, Kain has deemed me his... Angel of Death. This evening we begin training myself as such." He opened his wings, flapped them once, and then refolded them, smiling, "Have no fears, Turel. I and my clan shall make sure no more of your children are killed."  
Turel stood frozen in overwhelming rage and humiliation as Raziel turned calmly and walked from the Sanctuary. I couldn't suppress a smile of my own. Now THAT was my Raziel! 

I almost tripped over him as I walked back to my stronghold. He was curled up behind a tall stone, gasping with pain. I ran to his side, pushing aside the young Razielim who was at a loss to help him.  
"What's happened? What's wrong?" I asked without looking away from Raziel's contorted face.  
"I... I can't..." He was being elusive, reluctant to answer. My claws were suddenly around his throat, threatening to squeeze his head off his shoulders.  
"Tell me. Are you responsible for this?"   
"N-no, Lord Melchiah. I'm bound under oath..."  
"What oath? WHAT OATH?"  
"........"  
_"WHAT OATH?!?"_ I took him by the front of his tunic and shook him, baring fangs. A soft whimper of fear gurgled from his throat and he stammered an answer.  
"T-to talk about my lord's latest change." 

I again found myself carrying my brother to my chambers, this time placing him in my own bed before seeing if I couldn't tear the story of what was going on with Raziel and his clan from his squire.  
"What is your name?" I asked as I sat down in a plush chair beside the unconscious, contorting Raziel, keeping one hand on his.  
"J-Javan, my lord."  
"Javan. I need you to tell me what is wrong with my brother."  
"I can't! I swore to Lord Raziel that..."  
"Lord Raziel trusts me with his life. He will trust me with this."  
"I..." I sighed heavily and leaned forward a little.  
"Javan, I promise you that anything you reveal to me will not leave this room, and if your master is angry with you for telling, I will explain to him that I forced you to. Understood?"  
"Y-Yes." He took a deep breath and started his story.  
"Two moons ago this began. Our lord, he began acting strangely. Just around us, though. He was hiding it from the rest of the clans and Kain. He always seemed to be in mild pain, and snapped at us continuously. Even Chaioth, his Second, was fearful of what was happening to Lord Raziel.  
"One day he retreated to the depths of the castle and would talk to none of us save to request a human to feed on. We would leave the creature tethered and return to a dried husk. He stayed there for two weeks... just.... just in unbearable pain. The screams.... We all wanted to go to him and... but the foolish few that tried never returned.   
"He crawled up from the shadows a time later, weak but... He had gone through the Change. Gone through it conscious and... he is still going through it."  
"WHAT?"  
"I-I don't know why! I don't know why he was conscious for the Changing, but... his body made the wings first... and now it is changing to allow him to fly, adapting. He says it's reshaping his bones, making them stronger but lighter... Like a bird's bones."  
That was why he felt like he weighed so little... his bones were hollowing. I couldn't imagine the agony he must be feeling. His hand clenched suddenly, claws nearly crushing mine. Despite the pain, I didn't pull away.  
"Lord Melchiah..."  
"What is it, Javan?"  
"I'm... I am afraid... I fear Lord Kain might... if he continues to change that Kain might..."  
I silenced him, forbidding him to complete the thought. Mainly because I was thinking the same thing. 


End file.
